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Mutant Lord
A Mutant Lord (abbreviated to '''ML')'' is the title giving to a Game Master within the Mutant Future rulebook. The Mutant Lord serves as the moderator of the game, and is the person who should understand the rules better than any other participant. All other players are called "Players", who plays "Player Characters" (PC). The Mutant Lord plays all other characters, called "Non-Player Characters" (NPC) and/or "Monsters." The term "Monster" generally describes any opponent that is only presented to fight the Player Characters, even if they are presented as characters by their own right, and even NPCs maybe presented as combatants. The role of a Mutant Lord, besides moderating and playing all other character and situation, is to run the scenarios as an improve storyteller. As players dictate the words and actions of their character, the ML presents the players with the setting, backdrop and situation, and weaves a story based on what the players and their characters do. The general assumption is that the PCs are adventures exploring old ruins or traveling across the wastelands, but adventures can come in all forms; mystery, intrigue, survival, political theater, military campaigns, etc. The sorts of adventures are based on what a ML can do, and what the players are into. This page is devoted in giving tips and advice on would-be Mutant Lords who are learning the ropes with role-playing, and getting their start with Mutant Future. The Caller The Caller is an old concept form older versions of Dungeons & Dragons that can still be used in Mutant Future. The Caller serves as the spokesman for party (a group of players), so the ML would only have to speak with one person. This allows the players to discus the actions of their characters, so when they are done, the Caller would declare the actions of each character, so the ML would be more focused on the situation in the game, instead of the players. This was necessary back when D&D groups were fairly large convention events with about 50 or more players per game. In such games, players were broken into "parties" and the Game Master (called a "Referee" back then) required assistance GMs (aka "Assistance Referee" or "Rule Layers"). As games like Dungeons & Dragons became more about small gathering between friends and family members, the practice of Callers fell out of favor. With groups who have trouble communicating or finalizing their actions (to were they interrupt the GM), or you have that one player who is a great team leader, than the Caller player wound be of use. Free Kriegsspiel Role-Playing "Free" Kriegsspiel is an old concept in wargaming. Traditional wargames fallow a "Strict" Kriegsspiel game play, in that both opposing players fallow a strict adherence to the rules, with any variation or house-rules agreed upon by both parties for the sake of fairness, and both players are tasked with mutually handling the game mechanics (dice rolls, combat resolutions, moral tests, etc.). This is the method used by most miniature fantasy wargames on the market (like Warhammer, Warmachine, etc.). In the late 19th century, this method proved to be so unpopular with the Prussian officer corps — who used wargames as an aid for teaching — as it felt unrealistic, and was bog down by overly complex game-play. As a result, they came-up with a game-play called "Free" Kriegsspiel. This style of game-play differed greatly, as it took the responsibility of handling the game mechanics from the players and gives them to a Game Master, in order to free the players' concentration to focus more on strategy and dissension-making. The rules were usually simplified for the sake of speed and simplicity, and relayed heavily on an experienced Game Master, knowledgeable in the art of warfare. The Game Master, along with assistants, conducted the rules behind a screen or closed doors, and information can be given to passed to a single player, without the opposing player knowing, to simulate the fog of war. Although, not as popular as "Strict" Kriegsspiel, his method continued into the 20th century with games like Diplomacy and Braunstein (the later helped form the basis for Dungeons & Dragons). In a Free Kriegsspiel-styled role-playing game, the Mutant Lord would do everything a normal Mutant Lord would do, but all the dice rolls and combat/task resolution would be done behind the screen, freeing-up the players concentration for better play-immersion. That is, without all the game-mechanics coloring the players vision, they can better imagine the action through a narrative prospective. So, instead of thinking "Ouch, Olin was hit, taking 9 points of damage!", its more "Oh no, the Morlock tore into Olin's clavicle with its big, stone axe!" As this method would burden the ML with additional work, the job of conducting combat can be referred to an assistant GM (or an electronic combat simulator), in order to free-up the GM to focus more on storytelling and theatrics.